Ventilating and air conditioning method and system for inclosures



L. L. LEwls ET AL 1,817,384

VENTILATING AND AIR CONDITIONING METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR INCLOSURES I 'Aug, 4, 1931.

Filed Aug. 2, 1927 A fTWf/VEK;

Patented Aug. 4, 1931 UNITED STATES" PATENT loratori' lI.Eo I.. LEWIsfoErLAINEIELn, NEW JERSEY, AND ALFRED c. RuENsoD, or NEW YORK, N. Y., AssIGNoRs, RY MEsNE ASSIGNMENTS, To AUDITORIUM YENTILATrNG CORPORATION, or JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, A eoRroRATIoN' or NEW JERSEY VENTILATING AND AIR coNDITININq.

4H EILHOI) AN SYSTEM FOB INCLOSURES Application ledpAugust 21927. Serial No. 210,164.

This invention relates to ventilation and air conditioning methods and'systems for buildings or inclosures in which people congregate, such for example, as theaters, auditoriums,

y assembly halls, and the like places. In order to insure the comfort of people assembled in such places, in which at times large numbers of people congregate, various schemes have been devised for conditioning the air of such 10,` buildings andadmitting suilicient fresh air for the purposes of ventilation. Heretofore, the control of Ventilation and atmospheric conditions in such buildings has been con- .fined to the auditorium proper orfmain assembly room; orfreshly conditioned air has been independently supplied directly tothel auxiliary rooms; or separate or independent Ventilating and air conditioning systems have been used -for the main' assembly room and for S0 the auxiliary rooms, such as the lobby or foyer through wh-ich the people pass to-and from the main room, the lounge and projec` tion rooms, etc.

It has also been' usual in prior Ventilating and air conditioning systems to isolate the auditorium from the lobby or foyer and other auxiliary rooms, such as by doors often` successively arranged. f Infact, doubledoors between the foyer and the street'have been the rule ratherthan the exception. These extra doors, or closed doors, between the street and vthe auditorium proper have been considered necessary or desirable,f in spite of the well known fact that an open door or entranceway is more inviting to patronage than a closed door, even though, as in large auditorium buildings, the architectural treatment Very frequently calls for doors lot' massive construction which appear to be diilicult to open.

With such prior ,systems, every entrance to and every exit from the assembly room has also been a continuous source of annoyance.l

' For example, it has been customary in such Ventilating and air conditioning systems to plied, leaving no excess, supp y to balance. the stack efect caused by the column of relatively warm or cool air enclosed in the assembly room. Such assembly rooms almost invariably have many openings in the top and other parts of the structure through which, in Winter, the warm air of the assembly room can escape, and the escape of this warm air causes the entrance of ycold air through the y When, as in the summer time, the column of air in the assembl room or building is coolerthan that outside, the stack effect is Athe reverse of that'justdescribed, and the cold air tends to iow out through the openings at the lower part of the room drawing in warm air through the openings yin the upper part of the room.

When freshl airv is admitted to a room, or \mixed withair withdrawn from the room and the mixture returned to the room, the total quantity of air admitted to the room will be greater than the quantity of airwith- `drawn therefrom and returned, with the result that there will' be created in the assembly room or auditorium.,` some increase in the at-l mospheric pressure therein, the extent of pressure increase depending u on the amount of fresh air which has been a mitted relative to the air relieved from the room. It has been customary heretofore to relieve this pressure by discharging a quantity of theair from the room through Suitable relief opene ings on the roof or at otherl remote places. The discharge of air from the room in this manner has been an economic loss, but since 'a certain amount of fresh air should be admitted for Ventilating purposes, such loss has been considered unavoidable.

Attempts have been made to supply con- .ditioned air to the grand foyer and other auxiliary rooms by the provision of a separate conditioning system, or the use of conduits for supplynhfreshly conditioned air directly therein. e provision of an extra exhaust an amount of air e ual to that sup lair'.conditioning system, or extra pipes, or

larger equipment necessary to handle a larger quantity of conditioned air, is relatively expensive for the small benets obtained. The grand foyer or lobbies are also often provided with relatively high ceilings and the circulation therethrough of an conditioned air admitted thereto has been icult to accomplish in a simple orsatisfactory manner. One object of this invention is to enerally improve Ventilating and air con itioning methods and systems for auditoriums and analogous places of assembly. i v

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved Ventilating and air conditioning system for such places, with which indrafts of unconditioned air may be avoided; with which the advantages of an open entranceway may be obtained; with which less or smaller operating e ui ment is yrequired; with which the alr isc arged from the auditorium or rooms is employed to com' mercial advantage; with which losses arising in Ventilating and conditioning theair of such auditoriums will be' reduced to a minimum; and with which control of the ventilation andair conditioning is more uniform and dependable. v Another object of the invention'is toprovide an im roved and eliicient method and apparatus or Ventilating and conditioning the air of auditoriums and like" places in which people assemble, with which the use of separate or supplemental Ventilating and air conditioning apparatus for: auxiliary rooms such as the lobbyv is avoided; and by which the air movement'and circulation in e the auxiliary room or rooms 1s adequate to l. vide an improved `method and apparatus for.

cause thorough diffusion and circulation of the conditioned air entering. j the auxiliary room from the main room.

A further object of the invention is to prol Ventilating and producing desired atmospheric conditions in the foyer, lobbies or other will not interfere with'the architectural or auxiliary rooms of theaters, auditoriums and the like buildings, which will not encroach upon the space of the auxiliary room; which artistic ornamentation of the auxiliary room;

'. and which will be relatively simple', effective,

durable and inexpensive.

Various other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description of an embodiment of the invention, and the novel features will be particularly pointed lout hereinafter in connection with the appended claims. g A

The accompanying drawing illustrates in sectional elevation, and more or less diagrammatically, a theater or auditorium building having a main assembly room and a grand foyer or lobby communicating therewith and equipped with means inaccordance with this invention for Ventilating and providing desired atmospheric conditions in both the main room and foyer or lobby. y

In the `illustrated application of thefinvention, the main assembly room 1 may be that of a conventional theateror auditoriumbuilding having a stage 2 at one end, and an auxiliary room, such as an entrance lobby or grand foyer 3 communicating with the other end of the main or assembly room. The auditorium or assembly room is substantially closed, that is, there are no doors or openings leading directly to the outside air other than the emerv gency exits which are normally kept closed,

ter or leave the building on their way to and from the auditorium or assembly room, and these doorways afford openings through which air can `escape from the assembly room through the lobby.

The air of the main or assembly room 1 may be conditioned in any suitable manner and placed under an atmospheric pressure slightly' in excess of that of the outside atmosphere and of the lobby, and this slightly greater pressure in the main assembly room causes a flow of conditioned air from Ithe main or v assembly room through the doorways 4 or other openings into the land foyer or lobby 3, and thence through t e outer door openings 5 to the street.

The excess atmospheric pressure which causes displacement of air from the main assembly room through\the lobby or foyer may be created in any suitable-manner.. By way of example, the main or assembly room 1 may be supplied with co ditioned air through pipes 9 and l() which ischarge into different parts of t-he main assembly room through suitable discharge openings or devices 11. Such discharge openings are commonly in or near the ceiling, of the main room, and also just beneath the balcony if the room happens to be provided with a balcony. Air may be withdrawn from the main room through suitable openings 12 arranged in or adjacent the floor or at other appropriate points, and conn municating with a conduit 13, the balcony also preferably having openings 14 in or near its floor communicating with a conduit 15. The conduits 13 and 15 are connected to 'a common withdrawn air pipe or conduit 16 communicating with the suction side of a fau orair circulating device 17 and the pipes `9 and 10 are connected together and to -the discharge .side of the air circulating fan or device 17.

A suitable air conditioning device 18 may be provided ata suitable point so as to remove moisture from or add moisture to air passing therethrough for supply to the auditorium. Such air conditiomng devices are well known in the art and therefore a detailed description fof the same is omitted.in the interest of clarity. A mixing chamber 19 may be provided 'at the entrance end of the air conditioning device 18, and another mixing chamber 2O may provided between the air conditioning device and the intake side of the fan or blower 17. A heater 21 may be provided .for the air, 'and for convenience may be arranged at the intake side of the fan or blower 17. The withdrawn air pipe 16 may be branched, one branch 22 leading to the mixing chamber 19, and another branch 23 leading to the mixing chamber 20, the two branches .having damper or shutter devices 24 and 25 respectively, b y which the proportions of air lWithdrawn from the main assembly room and passing through or bypassing around the air conditioning device 18 may be selectively varied. Y

Fresh outside air may be brought into the building through a suitable fresh. air conduit 26 and this conduit may in turn be pro vided with a branch 27 leading to the mixing chamber 19, and another branch 28 leading to the'mixing chamber 20. Thus, by suitably controlling the air How through the kbranches 27 and 28, all of the fresh air maybe passed through or bypassed around the air conditioning device 18, or an `desired proportion of the fresh air sent 't rough the? air con-A ditioning device, and the remainder bypassed.

The branches 27 and 28 of the fresh air conduit may be provided with shutterf'devices 29 and 30 for controlling' the relative amounts or proportions of the fresh air which are sent through or bypassed around the air con ditioning device 18.

' f The partlcular type of air conditioning device 18 which has been illustrated by way ot v'example is one of the spray type, the liquid for the same being circulated by a, pump 31 and pipes 32,'and the circulating liquid being cooled by suitable refrigerating apparatus 33 when refrigeration of the sprayed liquid is desired. The air heater 21 may be located, as shown, at the d ischarge'end of the air conditioning device, or one or more heaters may be provided at any other suitable point or points of the air circulating system.

`With such an arrangement, either the fresh air alone or the withdrawn air can be conditioned before delivery to the auditorium, or the withdrawn air may be mixed with any desired quantity of"fresh air, and any proportions or combinations of withdrawn air and fresh air conditioned, soj that the final mixtures of withdrawn and fresh air passing through the heater 2l and delivered .by the circulating fan or blower and pipes 9 and 10 to the auditorium 17 will have any desired condition of temperature and humidity. In

' the illustrated application of theinvention,

withdrawn air or a mixture of bothbcan be conditioned as may be re uired.

The addition of fresh air to the withdrawn air, or the sendingof only fresh air to the main room creates in the mainassembly room' `fitted doors, Windows-or like openings, re`

gardless ofvoutside atmospheric conditions, because there willalways be some direct displacement of the vair from the main room to the outside atmosphere through the cracks and like openings that are, almost always present in a large building, as hereinbefore explained.

Air displaced from the main room and en' tering the grand foyer or l0bby3, for example through the door` openings 4, will to some extent diffuse through the lobby or foyer, but inasmuch as the lobby is often provided with a high ceiling and frequently is quite large, the circulation and diffusion is not as rapid or complete as is usually required. A cordingly, independent circulating means may be utilized to thoroughly diffuse and circulate the air in the foyer or lobby.

For this purpose a circulating fan 34 may be utilized and preferably is disposed exteriorly of the lobby, such as below the iloor. It maybe connected at its intake side by a the lobby, and connected at its discharge side by a pipe 36 to oneor more outlets 37 in the ceiling or other suitable part of the lobby,

which discharge outlets are spaced remotely v vfrom the intake openings of the pipe 35, so thatthe air Withdrawn from the lobby and circulated by the fan 34 will be thoroughly diffused and circulated throughout all parts of the lobby. `A branch pipe 38 may lead from the main room to the intake pipe 35, andthe pipes 35 and 38 are controlled by dampers 39 so'that the fan 34 can take the air either fromvthe mainroom or from the lobby, as -heinafter explained.

pipe 35, preferably lto one or more points ofL l Preferably leach of the outlets of the vpipev 36 into'the lobby is provided with deilectors or tubes adapted to cause distribution of the ingoing air in various directions, so as to cause circulation of the air to all parts of the lobby. vIn a lobby or foyer where people are on their feet and free to move, it is usually not ob'ec'tionable to blow the currents of air towar the people, ifl the air is discharged at andlose their objectionable velocity beforel points removed from the people suiiiciently to cause the currents or jets o air to spread striking the people. n

In cases where it is desirable or necessary to normally keep the door openings 4 between the auxiliary rooms and the mainV room closed, suitable conduits (not shown) may be provided for connecting the main and auxiliary rooms, so that the air may be` displaced through these conduits between the rooms, or if desired, the pipe 35 at the intake side of the circulating'V fan 34 may be connected to the main room, or the branch 38 may be connected therewith, as shown, to facilitate the displacement of the conditioned air from the main room to the auxiliary room, as well as cause diffusion land circulation of the displaced or excessair through the auxiliary room.

'Ehis improved system is distinctly difterent from prior systems` in that instead of removing all-of the excess air by means of an exhaust fan, and as a result more frequently than not causing an inrush to the assembly room of unconditioned air through the entrance door, the exhaust fan may be eliminated, and the resulting increased atmospheric pressure built up in the auditoriumor assembly room by the addition offresh air causes an outward flow of conditioned air through the auxiliary rooms and particularly so through thelobby or grand foyer. By the herein described system, this movement of conditioned air, which heretofore has been exhausted through the roof or other places where its benefits were all lost, is utilized as a source of conditioned air for the auxiliary rooms, particularly the lobby or foyer, thus eliminating the use of special apparatus for that-purpose." In lthe 'case of largerooms, such as larger foyers or lobbies, particularly those having high ceilings, the conditioned air may be locally circulated therein as eX- plaine, to insure uniform throughout those rooms, andthe conditioned air from the lobby or foyer conducted out through the entranceway upon a public thoroughfare along which pedestrians or possible customers travel.

This outward flow of air through the entranceway effectively prevents in the inflow therethrough of uneonditioned air and therefore objectionable drafts or vinterference with the proper-control of the atmospheric conditions in the auditorium or assembly room, and the auxiliary rooms, and in addition is now a valuable asset because in passing out through the entranceway, it serves as a silent, yet appealing advertisement to the publiel bydirecting their attention to the attractive atmospheric conditions within the theater or auditorium. Thus with this system, the heretofore wasted conditioned air conditions vertisement of the 'theater .or auditorium. With such a system, the entranceway may be, and should be, kept open and thus one is fable totake advantage of the psychological fri ration.

t will be obvious that various changes in` the details, which have been herein described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of the invention, may be made by those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of 'the invention as expressed 1n the appended claims.- t

We claim as our mventlon:

1. 4The method of Ventilating/and providl I f ing desired atmospheric conditlons in a substant-ially closed main room in which people congregate and in an auxiliary room communicating with said main room, which comprises withdrawing air from said main room, conditioning air for sup ly to said main room, forcibly delivering, y pressure differ-` ences said conditioned airwith variable proportions of said withdrawn air and fresh air ,into said main room and displacing from the main room to the auxiliary room volumes of the air thereof approximately equal to the fresh air delivered into the main room, and relieving` air from said auxiliary room to permit of displacement of air theretofrom said main room.

2. The method of Ventilating and providing desired atmospheric conditions in a main room in which people congregate and in a smaller room communicating with said main room, which comprises withdrawing air from saidmain room, conditioning more or less of said withdrawn air and delivering forcibly by pressure differences said conditioned air with variable proportions of outside air into said mainroom and causing a displacement of the air of said main room into said smaller room in amounts substantiallyequal to the yproportion of outside airdelivered to the main room, and relieving air from said smaller room to of air displaced om said main room.

3. The method of Ventilating and provid-- ing desired atmospheric conditions in a closed main room 1n which people may congregate and in an auxiliary room communieating with said mam room, which comprises withdrawing airfrom said main room, concurrently supplymg to sald mam room, con-' ditioned air in aiquantity greater than the withdrawn air to create in saidmain room an atmospheric pressure above that of rsaid auxiliary room, whereby conditioned air will be displaced by pressure differences from, said main room to said auxiliary room, and f relieving the auxiliary room` of air to cause` rmit the entrance therein a movement therethrough' of this conditioned air.

4. The method of Ventilating andv providing desired atmospheric conditions in a closed main room in which people may concatmg with said main room, which comprises with rawing air from said main room, concurrently supplying to said main room, conditioned air 1n a quantity greater than the withdrawn air to create 1n said main room an atmospheric pressure above that of said auxilia room, whereby conditioned air be disp aced by pressure differences from said main room to said auxiliary room,ne

lieving the auxiliary room of air to cause' l laeedff a movement therethrough of the y conditioned air, and forcibly and loca y cir.-

culating and di'ii'using'the 'air in said auxiliary room tomake the atmospheric conditions uniform throughout that auxiliary LEOL. LEWIS.v f

gregate and in an auxillary room commumi 'ALFRED c. Bum-sfoi);` l 

